7th - 9th November 2017

Thursday, 9th November: An overcast, fairly grey and damp day, but with only a light W/NW wind......

Selsey Bill: We start with an update on yesterday's ringed Mediterranean Gull (397A) at the Bill.... thanks to a very prompt and efficient reply from the ringers, we can say that this adult bird was ringed as a >3cy on 20th May this year, in Antwerp, Belgium, and our sighting is the first since that time. (Eds)

Not a great deal at sea again today, but there were three Great Northern Divers offshore, and the Purple Sandpiper was again present on the beach and around the groynes....

0945-1215hrs:   (C&ME) 
Red-throated Diver - 1W
Great Northern Diver - 3os
Gannet - 6W
Brent Goose - 4W
Common Scoter - 36W  
Wigeon - 6W
Turnstone - 22W
Purple Sandpiper - 1 ob        
Common Gull - 3W                 
Pied Wagtail - 9W                     
Skylark - 1W                              
Stonechat - 1 Oval field

 Purple Sandpiper on the beach at the Bill (CE)

                              

Ferry Pool: There were ten Snipe on the concealed pool and c80 Wigeon on the field, but just 120 Lapwing on the main pool. (AH)

Snipe on the Ferry (AH)

Sidlesham Churchyard: A Coal Tit was on a bird-feeder near the church this morning. (SA)

Ivy Lake: This afternoon there were two male Bullfinches, two Chiffchaffs and a Cetti's Warbler along the hedges. (AB)

Fishbourne Creek: Not much around Chichester Marina - just a Rock Pipit on the foreshore and 12 Little and 16 Great Crested Grebes in the channel. 
Around the creek itself there were three Spotted Redshanks, five Greenshanks, 20 Pintail and the first Jack Snipe of the autumn, whilst there were 35 Yellowhammers in the hedges and four Mistle Thrushes in the churchyard. (BFF)

Pagham Lagoon and Spit: On the Lagoon there were three Pochard, 25 Tufted Ducks, around a dozen Little Grebes, ten Wigeon, c75 Mallard and similar of Brent Geese dropped in, with a Green Woodpecker and a Fox nearby.

Along the fast-eroding spit there were c200 Linnets and a handful of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, with two Eider and at least one Slavonian Grebe offshore. A visiting birder reported a Short-eared Owl dropping into the salt-marsh off the spit, but didn't see where it had come from, whilst the drake Goldeneye and six Red-breasted Mergansers were out in the harbour, along with lots of Brent Geese. (AH)

Goldeneye (above), Eider, Pochard, Grey Plover, Green Woodpecker and Fox around Pagham Spit/Lagoon (AH)

The new lagoon forming on Pagham Spit (above) & the fast-developing shingle ridge near the harbour mouth (AH)

North Wall: It was very quiet along the wall, with just lots of Mallard and a few Teal on the Breech Pond, and not much more than a dozen scattered Reed Buntings and a couple of Song Thrushes along the bushes.

A Kingfisher flew along White's Creek, where there were plenty of Wigeon, plus a few Redshank, Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwits, whilst out in the harbour there were c100 Golden Plovers, 10 Avocets, two Bar-tailed Godwits, 20+ Pintail and lots of the commoner species. (AH)

Golden Plovers (above), Avocets and Brent Geese, Pintail, RTeed Bunting & Song Thrush around the North Wall (AH)

Wednesday, 8th November: A decidedly chilly morning, with a brisk northerly breeze,, though there was a bit of intermittent sunshine, too...... 

Selsey Bill: It was quiet on the sea, but a very confiding Purple Sandpiper, feeding along the water's edge on the groynes to the east of the Bill-tip more than made up for it, as, indeed, did the equally confiding Firecrest in the ornamental garden on the Broadreeds estate (= the new(ish) estate on the former Pontins site). Full log below.....
0720-1120hrs:  (OM/AH/SR/MJ/BI)
Red-throated Diver - 1E
Little Egret - 1ob, departed E
Shag - 4E
Red-breasted Merganser - 1E
Purple Sandpiper - 1 ob/groynes
Turnstone - 20 ob
Common Gull - 1E
Mediterranean Gull - 6E, 2os (one ringed, white 397A)
Chiffchaff - 2 gardens
Firecrest - 1 gardens (Broadreeds)

Purple Sandpiper at the Bill (top two AH, third OM, lower SR)

Firecrest (top one SR), Shags & ringed Mediterranean Gull at the Bill (AH)

Ferry Pool/Long Pool: There were just three Shelduck and 56 Teal on the Ferry, whilst along the ploughed field beside the Long Pool there were c40 Lapwings, a Song Thrush,  and half a dozen Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. (AH)
A Kingfisher was by the pump this afternoon. (AB)

Teal (above), Lapwings & Skylark around the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: There wasn't too much of note about in a fairly brief look, though the pair of Bullfinches were still around the Mound area, as were a Green Woodpecker and several Jays, and around 1000 Brent Geese were in the harbour, along with several hundred Dunlin and 50+ Grey Plovers. (AH)
Later on 25 Avocets were roosting along the west side,and a Stoat ran along the sleepers by the hide. (AB)
Late in the afternoon four, and maybe five Firecrests were seen coming in to roost in one of the evergreen shrubs just inside Church Norton graveyard. (D Potter/N Barrnes per SOS)

Bullfinch (above), Green Woodpecker, Grey Plover & Brent Geese at Church Norton (AH)

Pagham Spit: On the main lagoon was a redhead (juv) Goldeneye and a pair of Pochard, whilst in the harbour on the rising tide was a redhead (female) Goosander, a family of six Red-breasted Mergansers, a male Goldeneye and some smart Pintails, and on the spit there were some 30 Greenfinches, eight Skylarks and two Rock Pipits. (ARK per SOS)
Also, the Spoonbill was roosting on the east side of the harbour this afternoon. (AB)

Tuesday, 7th November: A total contrast to yesterday, with a strong and blustery southerly and heavy, squally showers under heavy skies...... 

Selsey Bill: Not too much moving again, but a Slavonian Grebe went west and a couple of Kittiwakes went east. Full log below. (AH/DF/DS)

(0730-0930hrs)

Great Northern Diver - 1E, 2os

Slavonian Grebe - 1W

Gannet - 12W

Brent Goose - 5W

Pintail - 11W

Common Scoter 19E

Red-breasted Merganser - 2W

Mediterranean Gull - 1W

Kittiwake - 2E

auk sp - 2E

Ferry Pool: There were just a couple of Snipe, four Shelduck, c40 Teal and c120 Wigeon on the pool this morning. (AH)

Wigeon on the Ferry (AH)

Church Norton: The Pale-bellied Brent Goose was with c800 Dark-bellied Brent Geese behind the churchyard, and a lone Barnacle Goose flew around the harbour before settling on the mud. Also, out in the harbour, there were c25 Avocets, a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits, c30 Shelduck and plenty of the commoner waders.

The pair of Bullfinches were along the path to the harbour, a Mistle Thrush and at least four Jays were around the churchyard and 100+ Linnets were along the beach. (AH/BFF/SR/DF/DS)

Also seen in the surrounding hedgerows were a single Firecrest, a Siskin and a Chiffchaff with at least 25 Long-tailed Tits in one flock. In the harbour a single Red-breasted Merganser and the Barnacle Goose that flew over a couple of times. In the field west of the church yard the lone Pale-bellied Brent was still with around 800+ Dark-bellied Brents (see attached photo). With the tide pushing up, the waders included 5 Bar-tailed Godwits, 8 Knot and single Sanderling roosting on the iron jetty. A single Sandwich Tern plus a dashing Kingfisher were also present. (BFF)

 Pale-bellied Brent Goose (centre) with Dark-bellied Brents. (BFF)

Barnacle Goose (top SR) (above) Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Brent Geese, Mistle Thrush, Linnets, Bar-tailed Godwit, Avocets & Dunlin and Grey Plover at Church Norton (AH)